Hellboy: The Crooked Man (2024) Review

Made before the current super hero cycle reached sickening saturation, Guillermo del Toro’s two films Hellboy in 2004 and Hellboy II: The Golden Army in 2008 introduced the world to Mike Mignola’s half demon anti-hero that first appeared way back in Dark Horse Comics in the 90’s.

Starring the perfectly cast Ron Perlman the movies blended del Toro’s eye for horror with equal parts of action and felt fresh and exciting at a time when comic book movies were still very hit and miss.

Never completing their intended trilogy, both Perlman and del Toro left the character behind when the production company upset them both. It wasn’t until 2019 that Hellboy returned, this time with David Harbour in the big red suit with Neil Marshall at the helm.

Seemingly the ideal man to take over the blood drenched reigns and drag the character into darker less family friendly realms, Marshall was set to make an R-rated reboot. But sadly again, it was the producers who spoiled everything. Made at a time when superhero’s were big business excessive meddling from the money men led to Marshall disowning the film saying he had had his creative control taken away from him “to extreme levels” and claiming “There’s nothing of me in that movie.”

Waiting 5 years for the dust to settle Hellboy: The Crooked Man is adapted from the limited series of the same name and co-written by Hellboys creator Mike Mignola, alongside Christopher Golden and the fils director Brian Taylor.

Better known perhaps as part of writing and directing team Neveldine/Taylor, who vomited the excessive and offensive Crank, Crank: High Voltage and Gamer onto an unexacting world, they also handled a couple of comic book movies during their career. The uneven and uninspired Jonah Hex and the unexpectedly excellent Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance.

Having gone it alone on another Nic Cage project the comedy-horror Mom and Dad, as well as serving as director on the majority of episodes of TV show Happy!, spawned from another graphic novel, Taylor thankfully tones things down here, opting for unsettling and atmospheric rather than the in your face shock factor found in his older films.

Set in 1959 and functioning as a prequel come second reboot, we are thrown straight in with Hellboy, played here by Jack Kesy. He and his rookie Bureau for Paranormal Research and Defence companion Jo (Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and Resident Evil TV star Adeline Rudolph) are on a mission to deliver a supernatural spider, a mission that goes instantly awry.

This eight legged MacGuffin gets them thrown from the train and stranded in Appalachia, a rural and eerie region where sorcery and magic are common place and a giant demi-demon with one huge hand, shaved horns and a forked tail does not seem unusual at all.

Learning that witches dominate the area, the team link up with a local called Tom Ferrel (Jefferson White from Yellowstone) who has had more than his share of otherworldly encounters from courting a witch to performing a ritual to summon evil spirits.

Gifted a lucky bone during the satanic ceremony that kept him safe during his time in the army, Tom feels burdened by its power and beholden to the being who gave it to him, the wicked Crooked Man a sick servant of the devil himself.

Caught up in the chaos, Hellboy and Jo head to stop the crafty and spiteful spirt and free Tom and the rest of the community from his reign of terror. But the battle wont be easy, especially as the Crooked Man knows things about Hellboy’s past far more painful than any bullets or witch’s spells could ever be.

Opening with some horrendously janky special effects, I was worried that this would be another boring CG driven mess of a movie. However, as soon as the team are derailed the style and substance increases dramatically.

Filled with interesting imagery (exactly the sort of thing you should find in a comic adaptation), the film is far more tense then your average super hero blockbuster and the sense of dread is palpable, helped on by the old creepy songs and disjointed scratchy folk music that populate the soundtrack.

Classic horror cliche characters like the blind ranting Reverend Watts, played by Fresh Prince of Bel Air’s Joseph Marcell, and Leah McNamara’s sexy supernatural seductress, are given a blast of life by the accomplished acting and solid script, with The Crooked Man himself an effective and chilling creation.

Although the aforementioned spider effects are terrible others work well, especially a sickening scene where the team discover a local girl reduced to a skin suit and then re-stuffed before their very eyes.

Story-wise, a delve into Hellboy’s dark inception provides so unexpected and angst-ridden back story that adds another shade of red to the classic character. And although the romantic subplot feels played out Kesy and Rudolph have a decent chemistry.

Although not the best Hellboy movie, The Crooked Man is far from the worst and the decision to amp up the horror and turn down the hero is a wise one. Fun, and at times, genuinely frightening, the film proves that comic book movies need creativity not cash if they are going to survive another 10 years.

Icon Film Distribution presents Hellboy: The Crooked Man in UK and Irish cinemas from 27 September

Movie Rating:

Hellboy: The Crooked Man trailer